A Splash of Colour

Spring Is Calling — And I'm Answering With Cards!

Spring has been on my mind for the last month or so, and honestly? I'm not mad about it. It all started with the Spring Vibes sampler (check out my earlier post if you missed it!), where the Splash of Sparkles DSP completely stole the show. Well, I still had a lot of it left, so I decided to keep those spring colours flowing — this time into a batch of thank you cards.

Thank you cards are always a good thing. I love sending them off to my Friday Faves winners along with their prizes, to the wonderful people who join me for card classes, and to customers who place orders. Making them with bright, cheerful paper that practically summons spring? Even better.

The Panel Trick That Makes Everything Look Intentional

For the card fronts, I used the Splash of Sparkles DSP along with the Pastels Shimmer Specialty Paper. Using my paper trimmer, I cut each panel in half diagonally and then cut those pieces again to create two right-angle triangles. (Yes, the Math teacher in me is very much alive.) Then I mixed and matched the different triangles to create the front panels.

A tip I swear by: always start with a cardstock base, trimmed to the size you want your finished panel to be. It makes lining up those triangle pieces so much easier, and gives you a solid base you can pop up on dimensionals, wrap ribbon around, or embellish to your heart's content.

To pull everything together — and to cover up that center seam where the triangles meet — I created a sentiment focal point using layered cardstock and DSP. It ties in all the colours beautifully and gives the simple sentiment the spotlight it deserves.

Portrait or Landscape? Yes.

One of the things I love most about this layout is that it works in both portrait and landscape orientations. I trimmed a little off the edges of the triangles to create a reveal on the base layer. On one version, I actually left one triangle out entirely and used it as part of the focal point instead. I love both looks — it's honestly hard to pick a favourite!

That Pink + Orange Moment

This DSP is gorgeous in general, but this whole set of cards really came down to one of my all-time favourite colour combinations: pink and orange. I still remember the first time I saw that pairing on clothing and thought... really? But the more I looked, the more intrigued I got. When I finally tried on a top in those colours, I was completely won over. Now if it isn't blue, pink and orange is my go-to colour story.

Leaning all the way into that palette, I used a full panel of DSP as-is (I had cut an entire sheet for the first two cards — why not use it all?). Then I pulled out all the stops: layers of colour, shiny gold and brass accents, embossing, and ribbon. I tried bows, but simple loops of ribbon let the sentiment really stand out against the Bubble Bath squiggle stamp background. A few Brushed Brass Butterflies and some dimensionals finished things off perfectly. The pink sentiment element contrasts with and ties the DSP right back to the Timid Tiger card base. It just works.

What's Next — Scraps to the Rescue!

Next time, I'll be sharing cards made from the leftover scraps from this set. I am very intentional about using up as much of my paper as possible — why pay for something that's just going to end up in the recycle bin?

And that's one of the things I genuinely love about Stampin' Up! Every pack of DSP lists all the colours used right on the front of the package. No matter which sheet you pull out, it's easy to build cards and projects that just fit together. Colour coordination? Almost effortless.

Supplies Used

• Splash of Sparkles Designer Series Paper
• Pastels Shimmer Specialty Paper
• Timid Tiger cardstock (card base)
• Bubble Bath cardstock
• Pink ribbon (cheesecloth/gauze style)
• Brushed Brass Butterfly embellishments
• Dimensionals
• Lovely Arrangements stamp set (sentiments)
• Stampin' Classic Inks in Timid Tiger, Bubble Bath
• Versamark Ink
• Gold embossing powder
• Heat tool
• Paper trimmer